Posts by Josh Moody

Isaiah 21-23, Proverbs 22:1-16, Luke 22:24-30, Hebrews 5 Luke 22:24-30: So many books have been written about leadership, and yet so few of them grasp this principle that Jesus here teaches—a principle that is at the heart of who is and what the gospel is. First the contrast. The Gentiles have a certain style of leadership. Often we…

Isaiah 17-20, Proverbs 21:17-31, Luke 22:14-23, Hebrews 4:12-16 Luke 22:14-23: This meal is now laden with gospel significance, each and every part. First, it points to Jesus’ coming suffering (Luke 22:15). The Lord’s Supper, when we eat it now on the other side of the cross, points back to Jesus’ death for us. Second, it points to the…

Isaiah 14-16, Proverbs 12:1-16, Luke 22:1-13, Hebrews 4:1-11 Luke 22:1-13: (Luke 22:1) It is almost Passover and Jesus is making preparations, not just to eat the Passover with his disciples, but also to be the fulfillment of that Passover in his own death for the sin of the world. Note: all of these Old Testament types and figures…

Isaiah 11-13, Proverbs 20:16-30, Luke 21:29-38, Hebrews 3 Luke 21:29-38: (Luke 21:29-33) As so often when Jesus is teaching, he uses a parable to explain his meaning. Such similitudes aid the understanding in the same way that windows in a house allow the light to come in. We need the solidity of the structure of understanding, but if…

Isaiah 9-10, Proverbs 20:1-15, Luke 21:20-28, Hebrews 2:10-18  Luke 21:20-28: Jesus now once again predicts the future as a concertina—first the near horizon and then the far horizon as the prediction expands. Verses 20-24 concern the fall of Jerusalem. Jesus’ counsel to “flee” when “you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies” was heeded by many Christian disciples who did…

Isaiah 6-8, Proverbs 19:15-29, Luke 21:1-19, Hebrews 2:1-9 Luke 21:1-19: (Luke 21:1-4) Jesus is observing a characteristic activity of the temple: the wealthy putting their gifts in the offering. Are they doing so ostentatiously? At any rate, their giving is observable. By contrast he then observes a poor widow who only puts in a very small amount of…

Isaiah 3-5, Proverbs 19:1-14, Luke 20:41-47, Hebrews 1:10-41  Luke 20:41-47: Having roundly defeated his adversaries so that (in Luke 20:40) “they no longer dared ask him any questions,” Jesus now takes his turn to ask a question himself (Luke 20:41-47). This question is designed to expose the illogical argument that his opponents were employing when they rejected the…

Isaiah 1-2, Proverbs 18, Luke 20:27-40, Hebrews 1:1-9 Luke 20:27-40: The Sadducees were a group of religious devotees who, according to the Jewish historian Josephus, were particularly identified with the upper elite, a sort of royal aristocratic religious party. They were distinct from the Pharisees in holding that there was no resurrection of the dead—and also in only…

Esther 9-10, Proverbs 17:15-28, Luke 20:20-26, Philemon 12-25 Luke 20:20-26: Once more trying to trap Jesus, they send spies (Luke 20:20), pretending to be sincere, and ask him a cunning question. First of all, they start with flattery. Flattery is normally a trap (Proverbs 29:5), but here their flattery has a particular aim. They are encouraging him to…